Hawaii football receiver Dylan Collie has three dates circled on his mental calendar: His wife’s birthday, their wedding anniversary, and this Saturday’s regular-season finale against Brigham Young at Aloha Stadium.
“That’s the game I’ve marked for three years,” said Collie, who began his college career at BYU, went on a two-year church mission and then transferred to UH in 2015. “It’s a game where I can play against some of my best friends, guys I came to college with, guys I went on my mission with. These are guys I love and care about, but come Saturday, we’re going into battle. It’ll be a different mentality.”
There were certainties early in Collie’s life. He knew he wanted to play football “when I could walk and talk.”
He knew he wanted to serve on a mission for the Mormon church.
His parents and two older brothers attended BYU, which is administered by the Mormon church, meaning his childhood dream was to play for … Ohio State?
“That was when I was a young cat,” Collie said. “As I got older and matured and grew up, I saw different signs and different values and things like that. I knew BYU was going to be the place for me at the time.”
During his junior year at Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills, Calif., Collie made an oral commitment to accept a BYU scholarship. He then helped coax several recruits to also commit to BYU before signing his letter of intent on Feb. 1, 2012.
The initial plan was for Collie to play as a true freshman in 2012. Although he made the travel roster for the opener against Washington State, it eventually was decided he would redshirt that season. At the end of that academic year, Collie began serving his mission in Virginia.
During his mission, Collie decided he wanted to transfer.
“I wanted to try to shed the light on what I had been doing the last two years somewhere else and be an example somewhere else,” Collie said. “There are plenty of Mormons at BYU. I wanted to be somewhere else where my example could be felt.”
Through his father, Collie secured a release from his BYU scholarship. Indiana and Tulsa then extended offers. “I knew I didn’t want to go east of the Mississippi again,” Collie said.
His father, who played under Norm Chow at BYU, received an offer from UH. At the time, Chow was in his third year as UH head coach. With his sister and brother-in-law living in Hawaii, Collie decided to transfer to UH.
“This is a great place because of the culture and moral background and importance of family,” Collie said. “It was a place where I couldn’t be too far off the beaten path. But it was a place where I could shine the light on what it means to be a member of the church.”
Now finishing his third UH season, Collie has emerged as a go-to receiver. He leads the Warriors with 50 receptions. His best catch came two years ago.
At the recommendation of his mother, he got in contact with Savannah Ellison, a family acquaintance.
“I met her and thought about her because she was so darned beautiful,” Collie recalled.
Savannah visited Hawaii in February 2015.
“We hit it off right away,” Collie said. “From there, she went back to L.A. and we kept in extremely close contact. We spent a lot of our days talking back and forth.”
That summer, Savannah moved to Hawaii. “We got engaged in July, and got married on New Year’s Eve 2015.” Collie said. “Yes, that’s how we do it. Nice and quick. We’ve been married almost two years now.”
For now, Collie’s goal is to win the last game of a season on the blink.
“The focus is to finally get a ‘W,’” Collie said. “Everyone is (focused). Not only us, the coaches are, the staff is, the university is, the whole state is. This will be a good one to end on.”
Ex-UH linebacker Daley dies of brain aneurism
Former University of Hawaii football player Brenden Daley is being remembered as a tough football player with a kind and witty personality.
Daley reportedly died of a brain aneurysm on Wednesday in California. He was 26.
“I remember when we recruited him,” said UH head coach Nick Rolovich, who was the offensive coordinator when Daley transferred from Ventura College to UH in 2011. “He was a guy who really fell in love with Hawaii. He really fell in love with being a Warrior. It’s sad because he was a bright light in this world. He affected a lot of people. He was a big haole coming from the mainland (junior college) and didn’t have a lot of time to get acclimated. He came in with such a great mindset attitude.”
Daley redshirted in 2013, then played inside linebacker for the Warriors for two seasons.
Daley initially played for the Atlanta Falcons and later signed with the L.A. Kiss of the Arena Football League. This past season, he played for the Bismark (N.D.) Bucks of the Champions Indoor Football League. The Qingdoa Clippers of the Chinese Arena Football League recently drafted him. He was considering playing in China this coming spring, according to his agent, Matt Mielke. He also served as a conditioning coach at Ventura College.
“Brenden was as hard-working and enthusiastic as anyone,” Mielke wrote in an e-mail to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “He had a larger-than-life personality and could make friends easily. … Brenden was truly a charmer, always upbeat, and a fun guy to work with and be around. His optimism and personality will be missed by everyone he came in contact with.”
